The second door on the left
by MercuryM
Summary: Modern AU. Between a dare, lots of pizza, a supposedly haunted house and a falling chandelier, Abby never thought she would get asked out on a date. Then again, she never believed in ghosts either; that is, until she saw the picture.


**Word Count: **2,076**  
>Rating: <strong>T+**  
>Warnings: <strong>slight horror but nothing extensive**  
>AN: <strong>So, over at tumblr, at the beginning of the month (or was it at the end of September), I asked for prompts for Halloween because I wanted to do something like a Halloween week, with different couples and themes. Unfortunately or not, depending on how you look at it, I got prompted only one Kabby and everything else is Bellarke, lol~ I apologize in advance about how OOC the characters might be. Here,s the first one - Kabby + haunted house.

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><p><strong>Second door on the left<strong>

The house wasn't a house.

It was more like a mini mansion. A falling apart mini mansion.

The grey stone of the facade was scuffed and dirty beyond recognition, the high-sitting windows were a sad picture of broken glass and bended metal, letting the wind blow spookily throughout the whole building.

Even just standing in front of it sent unpleasant shivers down Abby's back.

The house was creepy, truly eerie, especially on Halloween, when compared to all the other houses which were glowing with a soft orange light and the little kids were going from door to door for candies.

In contrast to that happy atmosphere, the barely standing mansion was a void of darkness, emitting despair and coldness.

Abby sighed.

"Are we really doing this?"

Kane moved his eyes from the flashlight in his hand and looked at her, grimacing.

"Jaha said that he'll pay for the kids' pizza and you know how much they can eat."

Abby frowned – Marcus had a point; she had no idea how suddenly Clarke's friends became so many but nowadays it wasn't unusual to see all nine of her daughter's friends crashing at their house and the girls could consume almost as much food as the boys did. Abby still wasn't sure if she was supposed to be amazed by that fact or disgusted. But one thing was for sure – ten teenagers were more than enough to eat her pay-check in few gatherings.

Thelonious' offer to pay for their food was a godsend, one which Abby didn't want to pass.

"But really, the old Mayor's mansion?" She looked back to the unlit house, eyes jumping from one broken window to another.

Kane smiled and tucked the flashlight in the back pocket of his jeans drawing Abby's attention to his butt. He had a nice butt and it was possible that she had been thinking about it on more than one occasion.

After Jake's death she hadn't really had the time to date – between mourning her husband, working at the hospital and looking after Clarke, her potential love life had gone down the drain. Meeting Kane through Jaha had both been a blessing and a curse. She liked Marcus, she really did, but with being so long away from the dating scene, Abby didn't really know what she was supposed to do or how to act. And Clarke's teasing and 'just go for it' advice only made her more aware of her age and flaws.

Abby was glad for her daughter's support but sometimes that wasn't enough.

"Ready?" Marcus' lips quirked in a small amused smile and Abby sighed once more.

"Let's get this over with."

The front gate was partially open and they squeezed right through the gap, dark green ivy tugging at their clothes.

Damn Jaha and his manipulative ways; Abby just knew that her mischievous daughter had something to do with the whole thing, too, she just hadn't figured how yet.

As they ventured deeper in the front yard, the lights from the street lamps grew dimmer and dimmer until Kane was forced to turn the flashlight on less they bumped into something.

Abby sneaked a glance at him – the flashlight was just enough to paint his features with shadows and light specks, making his eyes pop and his hair to look darker than it actually was.

The silence between them wasn't awkward or uncomfortable; it just was and Abby liked it.

But she liked it more when they were talking.

"Thank you for coming with me."

His hand caught her elbow just in time to stop her from stepping into a broken flower pot. Warmth flooded in her body from where his palm was curled around her arm.

"You're welcome; I wasn't going to leave you alone to face this." The ray of light danced onto the house as Kane moved his arm around. "Plus, with two people it will be easier to take a picture."

Another of Jaha's conditions – Abby needed to take a picture of herself in the house or else the deal was off.

She laughed and some of the tension left her frame, her shoulder bumping playfully against his.

They reached the door and Kane took a step in front of her, shielding her with his body. Abby wanted to be annoyed at him, but he was a police officer and it was a part of who he was; the truth was she liked this – being cared for, being put first, it was flattering and it felt good.

"Shall we?" He threw a glance her way over his shoulder and opened the door when she nodded.

The hinges creaked loudly throughout the scary house and when Kane pushed his shoulder against the door to make it open fully, a deafening sound echoed around them.

The air was fuggy, filled with dust and the smell of decaying wood. On first glance, the furniture that had survived the years of rain and wind and had been deemed unworthy of stealing, laid neglected, covered in grime and filth, broken beyond recognition, spidery silver webs masking the colours of the wood and the damask. A thick layer of cluttered junk covered the floor and Abby and Kane were careful where they were stepping.

Few syringes littered the floor among pieces of clothes and more broken glass and Abby cringed. The neighbourhood was well-lit and peaceful but it wasn't unheard of having kids in this mansion creating trouble in the middle of the night; and apparently taking drugs.

A breeze of cold air licked along her bare arms and she moved closer to Marcus' warmth.

He made no comment; he simply caught her fingers with his and gave her a small squeeze. Instead of letting go after that, Kane wove his fingers through hers and lead her inside the house.

Abby smiled at his back and took few steps until she was walking next to him, eagerly taking in his body heat.

"Did Jaha say where he wanted the picture?"

Abby sidestepped a fallen painting and looked at Kane.

"Yeah, the Master's bedroom."

"Really?" Abby nodded in agreement.

"That does make me feel like a teenager all over again."

Her eyes took on a teasing glint as her free hand laid on top of their clasped fingers.

"And why is that?"

Kane snorted.

"It's Halloween, we're in a creepy house that's rumoured to be haunted and I'm with a pretty woman. And all because of a dare. Sounds familiar?"

Abby was about to laugh – it did sound very similar to what Clarke had done with her boyfriend the year prior – when a sound of rustling clothes made them pause mid-step.

"Kane?"

He shushed her and moved the flashlight in a slow ark in front of them. When the light sweep by one of the walls they relaxed – faded purple curtain was being swayed by the wind.

"Really, Abby? All these years and you still call me Kane?" He led her carefully around the pieces of broken glass and splintered wood and headed for the somehow still standing stone staircase.

Abby nearly tripped over her feet and he tugged her closer, helping her keep her balance intact.

"I guess I'm used to it. I feel weird when I call you 'Marcus'."

The staircase was just as dusty and dirty as the other parts of the house; empty, at first glance cleaner spots stood out against the falling apart paint of the wall, the missing paintings and pictures somehow adding to the overall weird feeling the house gave.

They reached the top stair when Kane turned to look at her.

"Then get used to it."

Her response died in her throat as she stared flabbergasted at his small smirk. Was he..._flirting_ with her?

The hallway was even gloomier than the entrance hall. Here, the sound of the howling wind was clearer and spookier as it whistled between broken glass and creaky wood. The sound easily evaporated Abby's pleasant mood and once again she moved closer to Kane.

"Any guess?" She took a peek from behind his shoulder and saw his dilemma – there were three doors on each side of the hallway, which ended with a broken vase hosting dried out flowers.

"I have no idea."

Kane hummed under his nose and tried the door closest to them – the first one on the right. It was locked and it didn't want to budge. The one on the left was missing part of the floor and Abby and Kane skipped it.

The second door on the left opened the first time Kane tried the handle. The door opened soundlessly, in a notable contrast with the rest of the squeaking miserable house.

Kane went in and Abby followed him once she ducked under the hanging cobweb. The room was big, with a surprisingly good looking four poster bed in the middle of it, a broken in two mirror sitting opposite the bed and a dusty chandelier housing spider webs being suspended from the ceiling. Maybe once it was beautiful; now, it was nothing short of dreadful.

Something in this room didn't feel right.

Abby fumbled with the camera in her arms and pushed it in Kane's chest.

"Here, do it."

Marcus passed her the flashlight and took a picture of her in front of the bed. The flash of the camera illuminated the whole room and for a moment blinded Abby.

"God, I hate this." She sneezed.

Kane was just about to respond when the sound of breaking wood made them look up just as the chandelier was coming down on top of Abby. He was faster and managed to push her aside the crashing zone, in time for Abby to get away. Shards of broken glass flew in every direction and one nicked Kane's cheek as he protected Abby with his body. The sound of the crash left them with ringing ears for a while, the fallen flashlight shining upon the numerous glass pieces and reflecting light all over the place.

"You ok?" Marcus pushed her unruly hair out of her face as she peered at him.

She brushed the small trickle of blood off his face. Her heart was beating faster and not just because of her near death experience. He was heavy on top of her but it was a nice feeling; unlike the dirty floor she was laying on.

"Yeah, but I think I'll be better once we get out of here." He took the cue and got off her, taking her hand to pull her up.

She hid her disappointment and dusted off her clothes as he went to pick up the flashlight.

"You know," His palm slid behind her back and guided her through the door, "this is not how I imagined our first date."

Abby stared at him, her surprise clearly evident in her wide open eyes. Was he really-? She wasn't hallucinating, right?

She swallowed and took a shot in the dark.

"I suppose I'll let you take me on a second date so that you can make it up to me."

His hand encircled her waist and tugged her whole body against his.

"We have a deal on the condition that you start calling me Marcus."

Abby clutched the camera closer to her chest and grinned.

"Depends on your performance, _Kane_."

He chuckled all the way back to Abby's house.

Clarke stared at her, face scrunched up in confusion.

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><p>"What are you talking about, mom? There are only two doors on the left side – one in the beginning and one in the end of the hallway. I know because Bellamy and I did it last Halloween, remember?"<p>

Abby blinked.

"But I have a picture!"

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Let's see it then."

Abby went to take the camera and she turned it on as Clarke hovered over her shoulder.

The camera blinked to life and they both stared at the picture for a disturbingly long time.

Abby turned it off.

"We're never to speak of this again."

Clarke nodded, her complexion suddenly gone pale. "I think I'll take a shower."

Abby nodded and when the door bell rang, she went to answer it.

The camera was left sitting on the kitchen table.

Inside of it, on the small memory stick was the picture.

The picture of Abby, standing in a completely black room with just a small silver transparent silhouette of a woman in the left corner.

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><p><em>Stay tuned for the next six days ;)<em>

**- M.**


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